Give it time, Edmonton, and the Oilers will be just like the Penguins and Blackhawks.

That’s what management is predicting and what the players are believing.

“(Pittsburgh is) a good example of what we’re going through right now,” said Oilers centre Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. “Chicago went through the same thing, they were young and kind of grew up as a team together and now they’re always in the playoff picture. That’s where we want to be.”

That’s what everyone wants, but it’s not happening.

It’s been four years since Taylor Hall and Jordan Eberle joined the NHL and the Oilers are on pace to finish with fewer points this season than the year before they arrived. This, despite also adding Nail Yakupov and Justin Schultz to the equation.